Prank shuts down stretch of Sunnyside street

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A water bottle filled with liquid drain cleaner led police to shut down a Sunnyside street for four hours yesterday afternoon.

Police roped off a stretch of residential road on Beverly Avenue, near the intersection of Clove Road, at about 1 p.m. yesterday, after someone discovered a bottle with "yellow and white residue," inside a mailbox on the 100 block of Beverly Avenue, an NYPD spokesman said yesterday.

The NYPD deemed the incident a prank; however, until making that determination, police cordoned off the area as a precaution, the spokesman said.

Neighbors said they suspected mischievous teenagers placed the bottle there -- one neighbor, who didn't give her name, said she heard several small booms at about 11 p.m. on Saturday.

"One neighbor saw a couple kids run down the block," recounted Sunnyside resident Leslie Perez. "It makes you worried, makes you think." Still, many said they weren't put off or scared by the discovery. "This neighborhood has always been quite safe," said Fernando Abreu.

The police cordons came down shortly after 5 p.m. The owner of the mailbox declined comment last night.